Where to Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in London

It’s St Patrick’s Day on Sunday 17 March 2019 so grab a Guinness and catch a fiddler or two at one of London’s best St Paddy’s Day parties…

Lead image: Cahoots

1 Camden Market’s St Patrick’s Takeover
As part of the official London St Patrick’s Day Festival, Camden Market will play host to an all-Irish music trail for the third year running. Taking place on Saturday 16 March, the event will showcase emerging Irish music talent. Live performances from bands and solo artists, sourced by the London Irish Centre and the Mayor of London’s team, will take place in six locations across the market, including Bar 1974, Lockside Camden, Camden Pizza, Pamban and The Camden Grocer, concluding with a headline act performance in the Dr Martens Boot Room. Some traders will also be serving up an Irish twist on their dishes, such as Yorkshire Burrito’s Irish roast wrap with salt beef, colcannon, cabbage and gravy, Oh My Dog’s The O’Dogerty hotdog with Shamrock mustard, County Mayo mayo and crispy Tayto flakes, and Young Vegans Guinness ‘steak’ and ale pie. Performances from 1-7pm. Free.camdenmarket.com

2 Cahoots’ Underground Ceilidh, SohoCahoots, the immersive cocktail bar in Soho, is throwing a Celtic-inspired knees up, complete with whiskey cocktails, Guinness and live entertainment on Sunday 17 March. Set in a disused tube station from the 1940s, you’ll be transported back in time for a Ceilidh knees-up and an illicit cocktail menu of Roe & Co Irish whiskey concoctions. Try the Irish Toucan, a combination of Roe & Co Irish whiskey, homemade Guinness syrup, green apple cordial, garnished with a four-leaf clover foam, or a cocktail made to look like a pint of Guinness – the Black Custard – made with coffee-infused Roe & Co Irish whiskey, Grant Brulot Coffee liqueur, vanilla syrup and topped with a Philadelphia cream cheese foam, a splash of Guinness and cacao. There’ll also be a live pianist accompanied by an Irishman on a fiddle from 9pm -11pm.13 Kingly Court, Carnaby W1B 5PW; cahoots-london.com

3St Patrick’s Day Shenanigans at The Piano Works, Farringdon & West EndOn Saturday 16 March, the talented team of musicians at The Piano Works Farringdon will be ‘craic-ing’ out their fiddles and taking requests of all your favourite Irish songs, from The Pogues to Dropkick Murphys. Start your celebrations early and Brunch to the Beat with two-courses and a choice of bottomless Prosecco, Bloody Marys or mocktails from 12pm-4pm (£50pp). From 5pm, you can indulge in a two or three-course dinner from £26.50, with the option of bottomless prosecco for an additional £20pp. The night continues with musicians playing songs at your request until 1am in Farringdon, or hop on the ‘one stop to non-stop’ bus which takes you to The Piano Works West End for more live music until 3am. Then, on Sunday 17 March, head over to The Piano Works West End from 3pm-10.30pm for live music, bar food and Guinness at £3 from 5pm.113-117 Farringdon Road EC1R 3BX & 47 Whitcomb Street (Off Wardour Street WC2H 7DH; pianoworks.bar

Cahoots is holding a 40s-style knees up with whiskey cocktails and more

Camden Market is hosting an Irish music trail this St Patrick’s Day

The Piano Works know how to throw a party

4The Sun Tavern All-Dayer, Bethnal GreenThe Sun Tavern is celebrating its Irish roots on Sunday 17 March with a whole day’s worth of shenanigans culminating in a DJ set from the legendary Suggs from Madness. The bar, which prides itself on having one of the largest selections of Irish Whiskey in London, has teamed up with Slane Irish Whiskey to serve three Slane-based cocktails, available for one day only priced £7.50 each (try a Ryanair, blended with framboise, strawberry jam, lemon and absinthe). Alternatively, opt for a beer and a bump (a shot of Slane with half a stout), or try Ireland’s notorious spirit, poitín (pronounced ‘po-cheen’). There will also be a Cèilidh band and Oyster Boy shucking out complimentary oysters. 12pm-2am.441 Bethnal Green Road E2 0AN; thesuntavern.co.uk

5 St Patrick’s Day Weekend with at Peckham Springs
Jameson Irish Whiskey is hosting quite the St Paddy’s Day party at London’s Peckham Springs on Saturday 16 March. Load up on gourmet street food, challenge your friends to your favourite retro games, cheer on your home team during the Six Nations’ super Saturday (all games will be shown on the big screen in Peckham Springs’ indoor cinema) and listen to some cracking bands while sipping on Jameson drinks. Try a classic Jameson, ginger ale and lime (on the house for the first 500 through the door), or a refreshing Jameson Caskmates IPA mixed with tonic and lemon. Even the food, courtesy of BBQ and grill specialists The Suya Factory, will be infused with Jamesons. Throughout the day you can also challenge friends old and new to gaming on a retro PlayStation with 20 inbuilt games, show your skills on the foosball table, or play Catch The Light for the chance to win Jameson merch. There’ll also be live music from Danny and The Moonlighters to keep you going ‘til late. 12pm-12am. Entry is free.4-5 Dovedale Trading Estate SE15 4QN;jamesonwhiskey.com

6 St Patrick’s Day Festival, Trafalgar Square
The London St Patrick’s Day Festival at Trafalgar Square, which is approaching its 70th year, takes place on Sunday 17 March from 12pm-6pm. The event showcases the best of Irish food, music, song, dance, culture and arts. One of the most popular elements of the festivities is the St Patrick’s Day parade, running from Piccadilly through Haymarket, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, starting at midday on Sunday 17 March. Be amazed by flamboyant pageantry, elaborate floats, marching bands, sports clubs and Irish dancing schools and embrace this year’s theme – #LondonIsOpen. The main stage, hosted by Bosco and Angela Scanlon, has quite the line-up, including the McGahan Lees Irish Dancers, Feith An Cheoil and the high-voltage singalong karaoke dons, Massaoke, with an Irish set list.For the full listings see london.gov.uk

7 St Patrick’s Eve at Bounce, FarringdonBounce will be kicking off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations a day early by showing the Ireland vs France Six Nations game from 12pm, followed by England vs Scotland from 5pm, on Saturday 16 March. Visitors can expect £5 Guinness on tap, rugby across all the screens and the likes of B*Witched and The Corrs on repeat. The non-stop party will be going off until the wee hours with Irish dancers, whiskey cocktails like the Purple Rain (Bulleit Rye, lemon juice, and apple & chilli syrup), ping pong and all things green! Book a ping pong table for just £6pp.121 Holborn EC1N 2TD; bouncepingpong.com

Sup on a special Ryanair cocktail at The Sun Tavern

Bounce Farringdon is going green this weekend

Jamesons takes over Peckham Springs for a St Patrick’s Day party

8 St Patrick’s Day celebrations at Flat Iron Square’s official Guinness fan zoneWith St Patrick’s Day falling on the same weekend as the finale of the Six Nations, the official Guinness fan zone at Flat Iron Square is going into overdrive, screening all the games on Saturday 16 March and celebrating St Patrick on Sunday 17 March. The Guinness Village in Flat Iron Square will come alive on Sunday with live music from new wave trad band Beoga (collaborators with Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid), as well as the Monster Ceilidh Band, The Pig & Whistle Duo and Sean Brady, plus The McGahan Lees Irish Dancers. Street food vendors will be serving Guinness-inspired dishes, and the Roe and Co whiskey tram will be parked up ready to serve a host of whisky cocktails. Entry is £5 with a free pint of Guinness and a St Patrick’s Day hat. From 2pm on Sunday.64 Southwark Street SE1 1RU;flatironsquare.co.uk

9 Shamrock Sessions at Wembley ParkWembley Park is celebrating the Patron Saint of Ireland with an Irish themed programme of music, comedy, Irish dancing, food and drink and family fun. Taking place at Boxpark Wembley, highlights include traditional live Irish band The Shipsters (4pm-6pm), accompanied by ceilidh-style dancers, comedian James Dowdeswell on the main stage (4pm-6pm), 15-strong Irish dance troupe Scoil Rince Céim Óir (6pm-7pm), and a range of the best Irish stand-up comedians (Jalarth Regan, Patrick Monahan and Michael Legge) on The Beat Box Stage from 7pm-8pm. There’ll also be face painting, balloon artists and crafts sessions for children and St Paddy’s themed food from over 20 of Boxpark’s best including Spice Shack, Zia Lucia and Tapa Vino.18 Olympic Way, Wembley HA9 0JT; wembleypark.com

10 The Big Guinness Weekender at Brigadiers, the CityIn celebration of the final games of the Six Nations on Saturday 16 March and St Patrick’s Day on Sunday 17 March, Brigadiers presents The Big Guinness Weekender, with live screenings of the rugby final and other lives games, free-flowing Guinness, a live Irish band and Whisky Boilermakers. On Saturday 16 March, Brigadiers will show the Six Nations finals live in the Blighters Bar alongside their three-course Match Day Menu (£30pp). On Sunday 17 March, it’s time to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with live Irish folk music from the Stomping Boondocks, Teeling Irish Whisky Boilermakers to chase with Guinness, Fulham v Liverpool and Chelsea v Everton on screen, and an exclusive St Patrick’s Day Sunday Roast (£30pp) with a signature Indian twist. The Guinness Butler Service will keep glasses flowing, or you can opt for free-flowing Black Velvet, a silky-smooth stout topped with sparkling wine for additional £20pp.1-5 Bloomberg Arcade EC4N 8AR; brigadierslondon.com

Brigadiers is hosting The Big Guinness Match Weekender

Boxpark Wembley is hosting Shamrock Sessions in celebration of St Patrick’s Day

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day and cheer on Ireland in the rugby at Flat Iron Square’s Guinness Fan Zone